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Thomas Hickey , Irish, 1741-1824

Title

Lieutenant-Colonel (later Major-General) William Kirkpatrick (1754-1812) with his Assistants

Datec.1799-1800

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

140 x 108.5 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1968 (Shaw Fund)

Object numberNGI.1860

DescriptionFitzpatrick was a mild-mannered man with a gift for oriental languages and an extraordinary knowledge of Indian law and customs. He enjoyed a successful army career in India, serving as Military Secretary to the Marquess of Wellesley, and as Persian interpreter to the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces. He founded the Military Orphan Society in Calcutta in 1783, and died in London in 1812. In this portrait, Kirkpatrick is presented in uniform with assistants, guards and interpreters. In the background is St Thomas's Mount in Madras. This is an unusual composition, with figures cramped behind a table on one side of the picture. Hickey studied art in Dublin and Italy and worked for a short time in London. He then went to India where he painted English colonists and Indian nobles. This picture was probably painted on Hickey's second visit to India.


Exhibition HistoryArt in the East India Trade, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1970

Aspects of Irish Art, a Loan Exhibition; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio, 27 January - 3 March 1974; Toledo Museum of Arts, Toledo, Ohio, 17 March - 14 April 1974; St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missouri, 3 May - 9 June 1974

Label TextThis picture was probably painted on Hickey’s second visit to India. Fitzpatrick was a mild-mannered man with a gift for oriental languages and an extraordinary knowledge of Indian law and customs. He served as Military Secretary to the Marquess of Wellesley and Persian interpreter to the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces. He also founded the Military Orphan Society in Calcutta in 1783. In this unorthodox composition, which calls to mind Mughal art, Kirkpatrick is presented in uniform with assistants, guards and interpreters. Visible in the background is Saint Thomas’s Mount in Madras.